Tip of the week: Train helpers to serve the way you would

When you are not around, your staff or family members are your business. Customers cannot tell the difference. If they are rude or careless, your reputation suffers.

Teach by showing. Spend a short time with each helper to demonstrate how to greet, how to handle complaints and how to record sales. Write the basics on a single page:

• How we greet customers
• Prices and what we never discount without permission
• What to do when a customer is unhappy
• How to record every sale

Praise good behaviour openly and correct problems privately and kindly. Treat helpers with respect, because people serve well when they feel valued.

Give them the authority to solve small problems themselves, with a limit.

A duka owner in Kariakoo who trusts a worker to give a small replacement without calling avoids long customer waits.

This week: write your one-page service guide and go through it with each helper.